Dahan first prince

Chapter 208 Xiao He is... confused?

dare not.

This is the answer Liu Ying gave to her father Liu Bang's question with all her strength.

It’s not never, it’s not that I don’t want to, but: I don’t dare...

Abandoning the extremely ambiguous "dare not", Liu Ying respectfully exited the Changxin Hall under the deep eyes of the old emperor who seemed to be able to see through everything, and even see the depths of people's souls.

It was also from this day when the monarch and ministers, father and son played against each other, Liu Ying's status as a prince has undergone earth-shaking changes...
·
Three days later, the main hall of Changxin.

After nearly a year, the Changxin Hall of Changle Palace finally ushered in another court meeting attended by Liu Bang in person and attended by all officials.

And the theme of today's court meeting has already spread throughout Chang'an in the past few days.

Before dawn, officials, officials and relatives of meritorious lords filed in from outside the gate of the palace under the leadership of the old prime minister Xiao He, feeling apprehensive, anticipating, or hopeless.

After a while, the figures of Empress Lu Zhi and Prince Liu Ying also appeared in the middle of the imperial steps.

Then, the emperor Liu Bang, who was dressed in a crimson crown and crowned with twelve sulfur crowns on his head, sat down safely on the imperial couch at the head of the palace under the respectful welcome of officials, meritorious officials and relatives.

"Well."

"Come forward, prince."

As soon as he sat on the imperial couch, before even formally thanking all the officials of Gonghou, Liu Bang's first words attracted everyone's attention.

Under the watchful eyes of all the officials in the palace and the encouraging eyes of her mother Lu Zhi, Liu Ying only hesitated for a moment, then obediently got up from her seat, walked quickly up the imperial steps, and came to the imperial couch.

"Father..."

A soft call with the intention of asking for instructions did not provoke Liu Bang to turn his head. Instead, he slowly got up from the imperial couch, put his hands behind his back, and sighed slightly in the direction of the hall.

"I have heard a folk proverb that says: A man at twenty has a crown, at thirty he stands, at forty he is not confused; at fifty and half a hundred, he knows the destiny; at sixty, his ears are smooth; at seventy, he is old and rare, and he is good at things; at eighty, he is a stick. Ninety years old, one hundred years old, one year old..."

"From the body of a commoner, I will make great achievements in the prime of my life; when Han Zuo is established, I will know my destiny..."

As he said that, Liu Bang's face also showed a little sentimentality.

"Today, I am sixty and one years old, and I have already passed my sixtieth birthday; I have been fighting many battles in the world, and I am sick from exhaustion."

"I heard again: the life of a person is no more than a hundred, and it turns into a handful of loess;"

"In the past, Qin Wangzheng was afraid of death, and the people who practiced alchemy wanted to find the way of longevity; later, he sent Xu Fu to the sea with a huge fortune, in order to seek immortals and ask questions."

After saying these words in a solemn tone, Liu Bang swept his sharp eyes over everyone in the hall in sequence.

"What the king does, I don't take it very seriously."

As soon as these words came out, among the courtiers in the palace, there were several figures who were eager to try, lowered their heads like a mourning concubine, and swallowed the words on their lips.

Seeing Liu Bang looking around the hall with a heavy face, he lowered his head sideways, and gently supported Liu Ying's shoulder with his rough hand like dead wood.

When Liu Bang turned around again and looked at the people in the hall, endless gratification appeared on Liu Bang's face.

"Qin Wangzheng lived his whole life, but only one misfortune was left behind, which caused the death of Qin II!"

"Thanks to the blessing of our ancestors, I Han, I will never go through the same mistakes as Qin Qin..."

Hearing that Liu Bang's words seemed to be cryptic, but in fact they could not be more obvious hints. Even though the courtier Gonghou in the palace was prepared, he couldn't help casting surprised eyes on Liu Bang who was on the imperial steps.

After a while, Liu Bang turned his gratified eyes from Liu Ying back to the hall again, and a little seriousness quietly appeared on his face.

"Last year, Chen Xi rebelled against Dai and Zhao, and I spared no effort to send thunderbolts, and the imperial conquests were made; today, Chen Xi's defeat is imminent!"

"And I, when I was a few years old, I ran around the Kanto region. I became ill from overwork, and I was injured by Dai and Zhao Zhichun from the cold. I occasionally fell ill."

"When I return to Beijing this time, I intend to go straight to Ganquan. I will entrust the crown prince to take care of me for a little recuperation and government affairs in order to experience myself."

Speaking of this, Liu Bang's face could not help but sink again, his brows were slightly furrowed, and a sneer mixed with dark annoyance quietly appeared in his expression.

"I want to rest and recuperate, but in Huainan, there are thieves who won't allow me..."

With a sinister smile, Liu Bang's sharp eyes scanned the hall slowly for another week.

The courtiers and officials waiting in the hall were all stared at by Liu Bang's sharp eyes, causing them to lower their heads, and saw a fierce look on Liu Bang's face!
boom! ! !
A clear and crisp sound startled all the officials and officials in the hall to raise their heads, and they saw Liu Bang holding the case in front of him, with an expression of extreme anger!
"Chen Xi hasn't conferred the title yet, and Yingbu's traitor wants to turn against Huainan again!"

"I established Han Zuo, and at the beginning I granted eight princes with different surnames. So far, there are already six traitors!!!"

With a ferocious complexion, he let out several roars one after another, and Liu Bang's fury finally reached the extreme.

"I have said a long time ago: It is not advisable for princes with different surnames!"

"The misfortune of being a few years old proves that my words are infallible!!!"

"When the spring begins next year, I will burn incense and fast to make an oath: all my Han family, not the Liu family, will not be kings!!!!!!"

Following Liu Bang's furious roar, the courtiers, officials and noble relatives in the palace couldn't help lowering their heads deeply again, wishing they could find a crack in the ground to get in.

Judging from the series of incidents that have occurred in the Kanto region in the past few years, the enfeoffment of different surnames as princes and kings has undoubtedly been labeled as a "disaster for the country and the people".

From Gongwei and Zang Tu at the earliest, to Han Wangxin later, and Xuanpinghou Zhang Ao, who lost his title due to "crime" and was demoted to Marquis of Che, plus this year, Huaiyin, whose family was perished one after another because of "rebellion" Hou Hanxin, Liang Wang Pengyue...

Lin Lin finally figured it out. When the emperor Liu Bang was in the Han Dynasty, the eight princes with different surnames were entrusted to him. So far, only the second Changsha king Wuchen and Huainan king Yingbu are left.

Even among these two people, there is one person who is about to make a move, and a rebellion is imminent...
This is also the main reason why the Chang'an court reached the consensus that "different surnames cannot be kings" on the matter of "dividing feudal titles" extremely quickly in the past few years.

——The cost of rebellion for princes with different surnames is really too low...

It is an exaggeration to say: bad mood, too good mood, drinking too much, drinking too little, or even choking on saliva, may all become the reasons for the rebellion of princes with different surnames.

Different from this kind of instability of "a rebellion caused by a disagreement", Liu's clan princes have to worry about a layer of moral cost; the central government and the clan princes can somewhat be less suspicious... ·

"Ugh······"

"After all, it's still here..."

Regarding Liu Bang's statement in the court meeting today that "no one can be king without the Liu family", the courtiers and officials have long been mentally prepared.

——As early as Linjiang Wang Gongwei fired the first shot of "rebelling the Guandong", and other princes with different surnames followed up in order, "the princes with different surnames must not stay" has long been the consensus of the Chang'an court.

For the existing princes with different surnames, the court came to the conclusion that they must not stay. As the founding emperor, Liu Bang completely blocked the opening of "enfeoffing princes with different surnames".

But it is obvious: the topic of today's court meeting is definitely not 'should the feudal lords of different surnames be enfeoffed'.

Without letting the officials in the palace wait for too long, Liu Bang waved to the Zhonglang officials who were already ready to go under the imperial steps.

Following the rolls of bamboo slips that were still exuding the fragrance of bamboo, and the contents of which were unsurprising, were distributed to the courtiers by the officials, and Liu Bang's gloomy voice that made people feel chills on the back also came out again. The Hall of Faith sounded.

"Xia Siyue, the king of Liang, Peng Yue, conspired against him and killed him in Luoyang for me!"

"In order to prevent other princes with different surnames from rebelling and clothing Pengyue in the footsteps, I took Pengyue's corpse and got minced meat, and distributed it to Huainan and Changsha as a lesson."

"Even though King Yan is my brother and sister, there is no exception!"

After saying this in a gloomy tone, Liu Bang raised his arm and pointed at the bamboo slips in the hands of everyone in the hall.

"A few days ago, Huainan middle school doctor Ben He entered Chang'an to meet me face to face."

"This book is evidence that Ben He sued Yingbu for rebellion."

Said with a sullen expression, Liu Bang finally took a deep breath to suppress the anger in his chest a little bit.

When his complexion could barely be maintained at the level of 'expressionless', Liu Bang let out another breath slowly, and sat back on the imperial couch carelessly.

"Everyone thinks: Is Ben He's words credible?"

"Also Huainan Wang Yingbu, learned that I used Peng Yue's flesh as a warning, but he really didn't know how to restrain himself. Instead, as Ben He said, he was secretly accumulating soldiers, intending to plot evil?"

Hearing that Liu Bang spoke again, everyone in the hall couldn't help but raise their heads.

After hearing Liu Bang's question, everyone just lowered their heads again, as if they were carefully reading the bamboo slips in their hands, but in fact, they quietly fell into short-term thinking.

Yingbo, do you have any objections?

This question is almost as simple as whether hens will lay eggs, whether bandits will plunder, and whether Huns will take a bath.

But even so, Emperor Liu Bang still suppressed the anger in his chest, and put the sentence "Will Yingbo really want to rebel" in the court hall and in front of the court officials.

As a bureaucrat in the founding batch of the Han Dynasty, the intention implied by Liu Bang's move was naturally understood by everyone in the hall, and it was naturally effortless.

Soon, the Xixi courtiers were arranged in the frontmost positions, and an old, even faintly sluggish figure stood up.

"Prime Minister Binghou Chenhe, I would like to pay homage to Your Majesty..."

The hoarse salutation attracted everyone's attention. Even Liu Ying, who was standing next to Liu Bang, who was at a loss for a while, was not noticed by anyone.

Xiao He cupped his hands to Liu Bang who was on the imperial steps, then coughed lightly twice, and lifted the bamboo slips in his hand a little higher.

"Ben He, I still have some understanding..."

When he said the phrase 'Ben He, I know' without changing his face, a touch of disdain should have appeared on Xiao He's face.

"In the fifth year of the Han Dynasty, according to your Majesty's decree, when King Yingbu of Jiujiang moved to Huainan, Yingbu once said: Please transfer capable ministers and officials to Huainan for the king's use."

"Ben He, it is convenient for the minister to follow His Majesty's edict and send more than [-] officials to Huainan."

"The minister once heard that Ben He was not good in Chang'an. He was not good at government affairs, but specialized in the art of battling flies and dogs, so he wanted to remove his name from the official book."

"However, at that time, the country was booming, and there was a shortage of officials and officials; even if the ministers were unwilling, they had no choice but to send Benhe to Huainan, thinking that they were ministers of Yingbu..."

Slowly speaking these words of reminiscence, Xiao He couldn't help coughing twice before raising his head again.

"Houchaotang sent the censor to Huainan to gather wind, and returned to be a minister: Zhong Dafu Ben He, who was insidious and cunning, and not good at government affairs, was abandoned by Huainan."

"The officials and assistants who entered Huainan together with Yu Benhe are now Qianshi; however, Benhe began to serve as a doctor in Yingbu, and it is still the same until now..."

"On the last year, the Supreme Emperor passed away. Yingbu sent an internal historian to Beijing to express his condolences. He said to the minister: "This man, Ben He, is just a waste of Lumi, and he should be a Chengdan..."

Hearing Xiao He's indifferent expression, all the courtiers and officials in the palace had a strange look on their faces.

Earlier, when they heard Liu Bang talk about 'Ben He reported Yingbo's rebellion', everyone thought: This is Liu Bang going to sing 'that play' again...
——From Gongwei and Zang Tu in the Han Dynasty, to Zhang Ao and Han Wangxin in the following year, and then to Han Xin, the Marquis of Huaiyin, and Peng Yue, the King of Liang, almost all the information about "rebellion" is from middle-level people like Ben He Official report!
Its journey from "king's subject" to "rebelling the king" is also very similar.

Left and right are just officials in the vassal states, because of one or another reason, either they are not reused, or they offend the big man or even the vassal king himself, so he is in constant fear, fearing that he will be cleared that day.

Then, naturally, this kind of people 'coincidentally' discovered that King xx was in the palace or around the king's capital, secretly storing some soldiers, food, grass, and weapons, so he 'fleeed desperately' and sued the emperor Liu Bang face to face.

Then, it was Liu Bang who logically led the army to go out to kill the rebellion of the princes and kings that had already happened, or was about to happen, or even might happen, in the bud.

For similar scripts, in the past ten years or so, the courtiers and officials of the Chang'an court have basically gotten tired of listening to it!

Therefore, when Liu Bang said that "Ben He reported Yingbo's rebellion" and even distributed the "reporting letter" to everyone as if there was something to do, everyone just thought that this familiar script was about to be staged again.

But after Xiao Heman said with certainty that 'Ben He is bad after using it', there was a hint of hesitation on the expressions of everyone in the hall.

this······

Shouldn't it be a script for Ben He to report Yingbo?
Since it is a script, according to the usual practice, shouldn't the big guy cooperate with the emperor Liu Bang to perform a play, and then come to the conclusion that 'Yingbo must die'?

Usually, the best actor to play with Liu Bang is Prime Minister Xiao He!

But today, Xiao He is...
Confused?

Just when everyone was in doubt, Xiao He's next sentence made everyone even more puzzled and turned into a complete confusion.

"According to Ben He's nature, this time, Ben He is trying to rebel against Yingbu, and there may be other secrets behind him."

"The meaning of the old minister, Your Majesty may first be imprisoned in Chang'an, and another envoy will be sent to Huainan to investigate Yingbu's reality!"

It is different from before when he coughed twice when he took two steps, and stopped to catch his breath when he said two words. When he said these words, Xiao He's face suddenly showed a touch of strength !

Then, under the suspicious gazes of everyone in the hall, Xiao He quickly returned to the previous appearance that his life was about to be owed. He came to his seat tremblingly, and sat down slowly...

　Still writing, don't worry, I'll post it overnight
　　
　
(End of this chapter)